Catalogue

A knock on the door of her Philadelphia home takes widow Amaterasu Takahasi back to Japan 40 years earlier, to Nagasaki and the fateful day pikadon (the great flash) destroyed her family. Believing her daughter and grandson were killed by the atomic blast, she is now faced with a scarred stranger claiming to be her grandson Hideo. But before Ama can accept and embrace the possible existence of family, she is forced to confront the shame and regret of her earlier life, and the horror of August 9th, 1945.

Enhanced by dictionary entries of Japanese culture that head each chapter, this mesmerising and moving story delves into the forces, both personal and societal that shaped the destiny of this family, opening the door to healing.